


I Found You

by KarsKars



Series: Galran Twins AU Series [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Galra Keith (Voltron), Galra twins, Gender-Neutral Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Keith & Yurak are twins, Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Keith meets Krolia, M/M, Orphan Keith (Voltron), Seriously - there are spoilers in here, Sibling Rivalry, Tags Contain Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-25
Updated: 2019-07-25
Packaged: 2020-07-19 15:23:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19976290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KarsKars/pseuds/KarsKars
Summary: “Roger that Pigeon.” Yurak echoed their words from earlier with a nickname they were not going to let slide. No one,no one, got to call them ‘Pigeon’. Not Matt, not anyone!“WHAT?” They shrieked into the coms. “Don’t you dare think you can get away with that you overgrown purple space cat!”“Sticks and stones little birdie!” He laughed back and they could hear the distinct sound of sentries marching in the background as he spoke.14 more check-ins went by, totally approximately 15 minutes since Pidge had connected with the twins





	I Found You

**Author's Note:**

> This is a long one - yeesh, and there are quite a few POV changes but trust me - they are all necessary!
> 
> This piece is heavily reliant on my story [They Came Through The Rift](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18361610/chapters/43476125) so if you haven't read that one first then most of this wont make much sense.

“Why?”  
“Because this is the quickest way.”  
“No it isn’t. This is.”  
“OMG seriously? You don’t always know best.”  
“Yes, I do.”  
“No, you don’t.”  
“Well this time I DO.”  
“Clearly you DON’T or we’d be there already.”  
“Right, because the wrong turn was MY fault. Look, if we just -”

 _“GUYS, OMG! WOULD YOU TWO SHUT UP?”_ Lance’s voice travelled over the coms cutting their argument. Keith stood facing his twin, both of them in their Blade suits for the mission. Sven was in the Black Paladin armour, with Lance wearing Keith’s red armour, and Allura in Lance’s blue this time. Once again they needed all five paladins to make an appearance, while the Blades sneaked in undetected. Given Keith’s size compared to Sven, it just made more sense for him to join his twin while the much larger Sven played ‘Paladin’. It had bothered him a lot the first time they did this, but since then Keith had accepted it. He would be a fool if he didn’t use the resemblance between Sven and Shiro to the team’s advantage.

“ _Seriously, can you two try to **not** be yourself for like, two seconds! Please_!” Pidge was very clearly losing their patience. Keith looked over just in time to see Yurak make a mock speaking gesture with his hand and he snorted into the coms, unable to hold it in. He just hoped their resident gremlin didn’t hear it.

“ _Rak, try to play nice, ya?”_ Sven’s singsong voice travelled over the coms and like magic, Yurak’s tension melted away. “ _We’ll just ask Coran to map out your path, okie doke?”_

Yurak grumbled under his breath a little as Sven messaged the castle ship for directions. “HA!!! Look who was right all along!! I told you I know best.” He barked the moment their route came through.

“WHAT? You’ve gotta be kidding me. I was the one who said to go left.” Keith countered.

“Hell no you didn’t! You said go right; I said go left. We got lost because _you_ have no innate sense of direction.”

“Seriously? It’s like you forget that we are two versions of the Same. Damn. Person. Moron.” Keith was starting to raise his voice now, he couldn’t help it, there was just something about being called out like this that brought back some strong memories. Keith was never one to back down from a fight, not from the Galra, not from Lance, and certainly not from his irritating as hell counter part. “I’m just as good with directions as you. Better, if you take into consideration that this is MY reality.”

“Ugh, it’s been almost half a deca-pheob. I’d say this is pretty clearly my reality too. Besides, one of us is substantially more in-touch with Galra station design and it certainly isn’t YOU!”

“Ok, you know what? I’ve just about had it with - ”

“ _Oh. My. God. Enough already! It’s like being stuck with mid rivalry Keith and Lance all over again!”_ Pidge grumbled.

“ _Yea, yea totally! Except without all the obvious sexual tension this time.”_ Hunk chimed in causing Yurak to snort in an obvious effort to stifle a laugh.

“Why are you laughing? You’re Lance in this scenario.” Keith shot back at him.

“No I’m not.”

“Well you’re definitely not ME.”

“ _Darker skin tone, way more fun, the instigator – yea, sorry dude you’re totally me in this one!”_ Lance added laughing and Keith threw his arms out in a ‘there ya go’ gesture.

“We have our masks on so I’ll just tell you that I’m rolling my eyes right now.” Yurak crossed his arms and huffed in exasperation. He was losing this fight, Keith had backup and he didn’t since Sven usually tried to stay out of these squabbles. Just knowing that Lance was on his side bolstered his confidence and plastered a lovesick smile on his face making him very grateful for the masks of the Blade suits instead of the helmets of the Paladin armour. “And when did you get so ‘meta’ Lance?”

“ _When did you learn what ‘meta’ is?_ ” Lance’s baffled voice filtered through and Yurak shrugged.

“I hangout with Pidge.”

“ _Yea, Yurak’s cool.”_ Pidge confirmed.

“No, he’s a pain in the ass.” Keith countered.

“ _So are you.”_ They sassed right back at him and he gasped in shock. “ _pfft. Don’t act so surprised_. _”_

“Paladins … and Blades! Please focus on the mission at hand. Time is of the essence.” Princess Allura decidedly ended the debate and a chorus of ‘yes princess’ rang over the coms.

* * *

“Seriously? You’re doing this again?”  
“I’m not doing anything! I’m simply telling you where to go.”  
“Oh, I’ll tell YOU where to go!”

Yurak gave him a puzzled look before realizing Keith couldn’t see it through their masks. “What?” Was all he could say, honestly that made no sense!

“ _Hell, Yurak. He’s telling you to go to hell.”_ Pidge had his back. They were always translating Earth slang for him and it was greatly appreciated. “ _But seriously, if we have to listen to you guys arguing non-stop I’m going to disconnect your coms from the paladin lines.”_

 _“You better listen to Pidge. She’s scarier than the combined forces of evil._ ” Lance laughed but Pidge cut him off.

“ ** _THEY_** _! How many times do I have to tell you! Its ‘they, them, and their’ now Lance. DAMN”_

Yurak laughed and backed up his favourite paladin. “Ya Lance, damn!”

“ _Shit! Sorry Pidge!”_ Lance sputtered an apology. The paladin’s conversation continued over the coms but Yurak was no longer listening, his focus suddenly being pulled back into the moment.

The twins ducked quickly behind a brace, squeezing their slight frames into the shadows as a group of sentries marched by. This hall should have been clear; Pidge had set a distraction that should have cleared these lower levels of patrols. The group of 8 sentries marching past was a worrisome sign.

“We should warn the others. The distraction may not have cleared the other halls either and they could be walking into a trap.” Yurak spoke his concern to Keith but he didn’t need to, his twin was already sending an alert to the others. Without saying a word Keith signalled him to follow and the twins stepped out of their hiding place to silently make their way down the hall.

This was the thing Yurak liked most about having a brother. The more time he spent with Keith, the more they fought and bickered with one another. But at the end of the day, they communicated in a way no one else ever could, understanding each other on a fundamental level. They had their disagreements, and they drove each other nuts sometimes, but they _always_ had each other’s backs. He could count on Keith, no matter what. So when the Black Paladin grabbed his wrist and yanked him into the shadows again, he didn’t protest. He didn’t even question it as they pressed themselves against the wall for the second, third, sixth, and twentieth time.

The paladins must have noticed their silence because the coms stopped ringing in his ears. In fact, no one had spoken over the coms in almost 20 dobashes, which was odd. Normally there were questions or instructions being passed back and forth every so often but never did radio silence remain for this long.

“It’s too quiet, something isn’t right.” Keith voiced Yurak’s inner monologue as if reading his mind.

“Ya, I don’t like this. Should we split up?”

“That’s not a very good idea, but we can’t exactly contine without Pidge to deactivate the alarms and it will take too long to go check on them then make our way back here to finish our assignment. _Dammit._ This is a pain in the ass. OK, here’s what we’re gunna do.” Keith squared his shoulders and moved into ‘Leader mode’. “You go after the others, see if you can find them and figure out what’s causing the communication breakdown. I’ll continue our assignment and wait to hear from you before I proceed. Sound good?”

“Yea, but what if we can’t communicate either? We should switch to our Blade lines, that way what ever is causing a block with the Paladin lines won’t happen to us.”

“GOOD IDEA!” Keith confirmed with a little too much enthusiasm making him chuckle. “Let’s agree to check-in once every minute so we know the coms are working and we are both ok. That way if we don’t hear from each other then we know something is wrong.”

“Ok, let’s also agree that if we miss two check-ins, we turn around immediately and meet back here. We’ll wait here and give the other 1 dobash to show up, then we go after them. Sound good?”

“Yea that’s a good plan. Yurak, you’re really good at this stuff you know. Like, coming up with backup plans and fail safes and such.”

“Thanks dude. You’re a pretty damn good leader.”

 _“Aww, you guys gunna kiss?”_ Pidge’s condescending voice travelled over the com to both of their surprise. “ _Sven and Lance might get jealous_.”

“PIDGE??? OMG, are the coms working?” Keith panicked over the line.

“ _Nope. Something interrupted our feed but I managed to slip away and mine just re-connected to you guys in time to hear that loving brotherly moment. So sweet.”_ Though they were being sassy, there was a genuine level of fear in their voice.

“Ok, I say we stick to our plan but Pidge hides and runs correspondence. Pidge, can you connect to the Blade lines?” He asked, already expecting their answer.

“ _Must I remind you who you are dealing with? Honestly, sometimes I think you two are as dense as Lance.”_

“Hey, leave Lance out of this.” Keith scolded.

“ _Oh I’m sorry, I didn’t realize your boytoy was off limits all of a sudden.”_ Yurak snorted at their words and desperately tried to cover it up with a cough. It didn’t work. “ _Subtle.”_

“Dammit Pidge, do you have to comment on everything?”

“Yes, they do. But now I’m starting to get worried, everyone connect to the Blade line. Pidge: stay where you are, or find a decent hiding spot. Yurak: go after the others. I’ll continue on our original assignment. Everyone needs to check-in at 1 minute intervals. No exceptions.” Back in ‘Leader Mode’ Keith handed out their assignments.

“ _Roger that team Leader!”_ Pidge sounded off. _  
_ “On it.” He confirmed.

“Good, roll out.” Keith directed and they headed off in opposite directions.

* * *

The Blade lines used a completely different frequency than the Paladin lines. In fact, nothing they had ever come across used the same frequency as they did. Pidge chalked that up to Altean vs other tech. With the castle-ship, lions, and Paladin armour being the only things that were Altean and therefore the only things in over 10,000 years that used Altean tech. It meant that it was incredibly difficult for others to tap into their signals; the Paladin lines were essentially as secure as it got because their tech was unique to them. However, it also meant that the Galra could create jammers that latched onto their signal and _only_ took out the Paladin lines and none of their own stuff.

But the Blades used a completely different system. So the Galra rarely were able to deactivate those lines without damaging their own in the process. It gave the paladins an advantage; no one ever had two lines they could use. But Pidge was smarter than your average bear and they had been able to link the Paladin and Blade lines. But only for the Paladins, there was no way they were giving the Blade of Marmora access to the Paladin lines; with the exception of Yurak and Keith’s suits. They had also added both the Paladin lines and Blade lines to Sven and Yurak’s Guns of Gamara suits. Currently, Pidge was working on linking the Paladin armour and Blade suits to the Guns lines. That would give them a private line that no one in their entire reality knew about. It was the most secure line and the ultimate goal! Pidge had been so obsessed with this new project they were basically having wet dreams about it.

“ _Red checking in.”_ Keith’s voice pulled them from their thoughts. Honestly they had become so lost in thinking about the lines they hadn’t even noticed it was time to sound off.

“ _Purple checking in.”_ Yurak hated that assignment. He hated being ‘purple’ and claimed it was borderline racist. He pointed out that Keith was equally Galra, and that if he was the colour of his skin why wasn’t Keith ‘pale’, or Lance ‘tan’ and so on. Keith had rolled his eyes dramatically and explained that the Blade suits had purple accents.

Since Sven and Yurak didn’t have lions, they were all the code named by the colour of their armour. Keith was Red, Lance: Blue, Allura: Pink, Hunk: Yellow, Pidge: Green, Sven: Black, and Yurak was Purple. Even when Sven was wearing his Guns suit (which was 90% of the time) he was still ‘Black’ because his suit was black with green accents. Keith had been visibly unhappy calling Sven ‘Black’ for a while but eventually got over it.

“ _PIDGE??”_ Keith aggressively hissed their name into the coms.

“OH shit! Green checking in.”

“ _Dammit Pidge, you gotta pay attention!”_ Yurak also hissed over the lines. “ _We – and with – having – ok?_ ”

“Keith did you catch that? I think Yurak’s cutting out.”

“ _Caught about every other word. Rak, you on the Paladin line or Blade line?”_

 _“-din line. Should – over to – line now.”_ There was a moment of silence before his voice came back. “ _Ok, switched. Can you hear me now?”_

“Ya, clear as a bell. Clearly something is jamming the Paladin line. Yurak, wherever you are is close to the where the signal cuts out. The others must be nearby. Stay on this line and if you find the others make sure you get them to switch over.”

“ _Roger that Pigeon.”_ He echoed their words from earlier with a nickname they were _not_ going to let slide. No one, **no one** , got to call them ‘Pigeon’. Not Matt, not anyone!

“WHAT?” They shrieked into the coms. “Don’t you dare think you can get away with that you overgrown purple space cat!”

“ _Sticks and stones little birdie!”_ He laughed back and they could hear the distinct sound of sentries marching in the background as he spoke.

14 more check-ins went by, totally approximately 15 minutes since Pidge had connected with the twins. On the 16th check-in there were a few new voices.

“ _Red._ ”  
“Green checking in.”  
“ _Purple here._ ”  
“ _Yellow joining in._ ”  
“ _Pink also present._ ”

Pidge almost squealed! They were so relieved to hear Hunk and Allura’s voices over the coms. But that excitement was quickly washed away with the realization that two voices were still missing. “Guys, where’s Blue and Black?”

“ _Sven was captured. Lance was captured trying to protect him.”_ Allura’s voice was heavy.

“ _WHAT?_ ” The twins hissed in unison. “ _I’m turning around! We need to get them back!”_ Keith continued but Pidge cut him off.

“NO. Don’t! Yellow, Pink, and Purple can handle it. You stay where you are. I’m ready to go with the alarms so I can get you in. We don’t have time to back for this and we _need_ to shut down this station.” Silence. He said nothing. No confirmation, but no objections either. “Red …” They waited, still no response. _Dammit Keith!_ “Keith! Answer me.”

“ _Yea, fine whatever. I’m almost at the doors. Turn off the alarm.”_

The rest of the mission seemed to go pretty smoothly, for the most part. Keith got into the control room and, thanks to his Galra DNA, was able to access the ships control panel shutting it down. The whole station went into a forced reboot and Pidge had to bite their lip really hard to resist the urge of loading their dancing head icon on all the screens. A promise of ‘on the way out’ they’d made themself was all that held them back.

Team Purple made it to the cells and found Sven but no Lance. The news made Keith lose his shit and he ripped his way across the station. With the systems rebooting, there were no active sentries to worry about and Keith managed to make it from the central control room all the way to the prisoner holding block in under 10 minutes. Pidge barely noticed his form as it whipped passed their hiding place and around a corner disappearing just as quickly. When properly motivated that boy could _move!_

Eventually Keith met up with Team Purple and they all made their way to where the station’s druid was working. Pidge had tapped into the security footage and watched their team in the halls, keeping an eye for soldiers coming to attack. They could hear screaming filter over the coms as the group neared the small room. One of the twins opened the heavy door and they both burst inside at full speed, blades drawn. Allura had screamed something about the druid getting away but the twins were more focused on the body of some random alien on the table. Hunk made a few gagging sounds and Sven’s calm voice directed them out of the room.

Keith and Yurak opened another door darting to the next room, then the next, and so on as they made their way down the hall. It was impossible to tell them apart in their Blade suits and if it weren’t for Keith also having his bayard, there would have been no way to discern them.

Another 10 minutes passed and they were running out of time. All of the station’s systems were back online and the team should have been long gone by now. Pidge watched as one of the twins rounded a corner only to immediately drop into a slide, slipping between the legs of a soldier. Said soldier whipped around trying to catch the twin but their counterpart was already rounding the corner, blade drawn and a snarl ripping over the coms. The soldier was down before the others even came around the corner and the twins were already on the move, surging forward to take on the next obstacle. This single-minded drive the Galra were known for had shown itself in the twins a few times by now, but never this strongly.

It was like watching two Navy Seals rip through a kindergarten playground. Keith and Yurak cut through soldier after soldier, sentry after sentry, and obstacle after obstacle on their quest to find Lance. The way they moved around each other was impressive; they used the other as an extension of themself. One would suddenly drop to a crouch as the other immediately jumped off their back, flipping in mid air to land directly behind their opponents as both blades simultaneously pierced through Empire armour. Their efficiency was inspiring - terrifying, but inspiring. The ease with which they cleared the station made Pidge think the Blade of Marmora took their training a little too seriously. The time limit no longer mattered, at this rate there wouldn’t be any soldiers left on the station any ways.

Pidge quickly tried the Paladin line again to see if they could reach Lance – nada. Switching back to the Blade line, they were able to catch the tail end of Keith yelling at Yurak to cover him. Suddenly one of the indistinguishable black and purple suits scurried up the wall and into a vent, leaving the other to do the same on the other side. Pidge frantically pulled up a map of the ventilation system, marking the first Blade with a red dot, and the second Blade with a purple dot. They watched the dots progress through their respective shaft until purple suddenly kicked open a grate and dropped into a room.

“HEY WOAH! Purple! I don’t have eyes in there! Give a heads up next time!” They panicked, trying desperately to gain access to the room as quickly as humanly possible. In less than 30 seconds Pidge had eyes inside and – _oh shit,_ this was not good!

Yurak had dropped into the middle of a meeting. High-ranking Galra sat around a boardroom table discussing and debating something; it all seemed so Human. It was like a standard military debriefing back on Earth, and it made Pidge incredibly uncomfortable. Before they could even warn the twin, he had already drawn his blade and was running across the table to the far side of the room. Taking advantage of the element of surprise, and general air of confusion, to reach the exit.

The door opened at his touch and shut behind him, Pidge accessed the controls and locked it from the outside.

“ _Thanks for the assist!_ ” He chimed in while taking off at a run to reach a heavy door just as a grate from crashing down from above and a mirror image of him landed at his side. “ _Hey dude._ ” He joked, completely unfazed.

“ _Oh hey, just dropping in.”_ Keith added light-heartedly and they both chuckled – apparently unaware of the fact that they were in an emergency situation! Pidge rolled their eyes, leave it to the two resident Galra to be this at ease in the middle of BATTLE. “ _Pidge, unlock the door, Yurak you open it, I’ll stand ready._ ” Keith finished.

The door opened and Pidge held their breath. Not a second later, Keith screamed Lance’s name over the coms and rushed into the room with Yurak on his heels. They emerged from the dark room dragging an unconscious Red Paladin just as the rest of the Scooby gang arrived on scene.

* * *

Not good, not good, not good! Oh this was soooo not good. Hunk stood with his bayard blaster aimed down the hall as Yurak, Keith, and Sven argued about who would carry Lance. Keith wanted to do it but admitted that he was more useful if he could fight so he had nominated Sven to carry their unconscious Red Paladin. Yurak wanted Allura to carry him, stating that the Altean princess was stronger than any of them and she wouldn’t tire from the weight. Sven was arguing that Allura was a more skilled hand-to-hand fighter and that he could use his blaster with his free hand so the Princess could fight and use her bayard.

In the end it didn’t matter, Allura picked up Lance in a fireman’s carry and stated very bluntly that Yurak was right and she was taking ‘Lonce’. No one dared argue because, really, who would argue with an alien Princess that just flipped a guy over her shoulders like it was no biggie. Not Hunk – no way. Nope, he was not getting involved in this.

Keith and Yurak took up the lead, followed by Sven and Allura in the middle, with Hunk taking up the rear. Pidge had them all covered from their hidey-hole, re-routing sentries and unlocking doors for them as they went.

After a few minutes they came back down the hall with the nasty alien guts and Hunk had to hold back the bile that rose in his throat from the smell. It was bad, like so so bad. The smell reminded him of that one time when he was only about 8 and had decided to help his Tutu make kalua pork. Being as young as he was, Hunk had become distracted and forgot to actually clean-up the pig guts, walking away to go play with his cousins and leaving them sitting on the patio, in the hot Hawaiian sun, all day. It was horrid. He hadn’t been allowed to help is Tutu for a few years after that, but she was a good sport about it at least.

Hunk smiled to himself, he missed his family so much. He knew Lance really struggled with that too, they both came from large families but his Cuban family was insanely close. Like, closer than Hunk’s family was. If it weren’t for Veronica being at the Garrison, Lance probably would have died from homesickness. Ok so maybe not literally _died_ but he would have been way more miserable. Hunk made the mistake of glancing to his right, just in time to see the remains of that alien and the smell hit him full force.

Stopping to heave, he gagged and choked on the air, adding his stomach contents to the guts and gore of the room. Luckily Hunk had his visor open so he was able to hurl in peace but still, omg so gross. The smell was so gross, the room was so gross, and now he making it even worse. Ugh his stomach gave another painful lurch as more of its contents came spilling out.

A loud explosion rocked the hall they were in and Pidge started apologizing over the coms. Keith was cursing them out, barking something about paying attention and not blowing up the team. Looking out the door and down the hall, Hunk saw a group of sentries smouldering away. Pidge made a few quips back but honestly, Hunk was too focused on keeping the rest of his lunch down to pay any attention.

A strong hand grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back. Hunk straightened and looked into the impassive glowing eyes of a Blade mask. Over the coms both Keith and Yurak’s voices could be heard. So who was this? They were clearly pure Galra, slim but tall, and crazy strong. Hunk paled, even more so that he already was from all his vomiting if that was even possible.

“Paladin of Voltron, you need to move.” She spoke decisively to him. And yea, it was a she. Her voice was deeper than a Human female but not nearly as deep as a Human male. Hunk just stared at her, not one of his finer moments, but he couldn’t get his brain to process this. As far as he knew there were no other Blades in the area, Yurak and Keith were only Blades on this mission, and Sven wasn’t technically a Blade at all. For a moment he thought maybe Allura had shape shifted into a Galra and put on a Blade suit but, yea, that made no sense. Like, what would she do with her pressure suit? Where would she even find a Blade suit? And most obviously, how would she have been able to do that without him noticing. Ok granted he had been pretty occupied the last minute or so, what with him puking his guts up, but he still would have noticed something like that!

So it begged the question, who was this? “Who – you – who, who …” He stammered out.

“Who I am is not important, I am a Blade.” She paused to let him stand. “I intercepted the station’s distress signal and deactivated it. They mentioned a Blade of Marmora agent interrupting their debriefing and I am here to assist. Finding Voltron was a surprise.”

Hunk nodded along, greatly appreciating that she had prevented Empire backup from arriving. He wiped his mouth on his wrist gauntlet and straightened up, the movement stirring the air and hitting him with a fresh wave of nausea.

“Ok, let’s get out of here. I can’t stand this smell and I think I got separated from the others.” She said nothing but stepped back to give him space and he opened up his coms. “Keith, Yurak – I got separated from you guys. Where are you now?” He asked into his coms and only _just_ heard the Blade’s breath catch. Hunk didn’t dwell too much on it, she was probably confused as to how they were all on the same com line, yea that was probably it.

“ _Ugh, you have got to be kidding me! Hunk, what happened? Yurak, go get him. The rest of us will head for the lions and get Lance to safety.”_ Keith’s incredibly annoyed voice buzzed over the coms and Hunk felt himself blush. Yea, his getting separated from the group was 100% his own fault. Maybe he would pickup some pepto tablets the next time they went to the space mall. Or maybe Coran could create them in the castle’s medbay? Yea, that was worth a try.

“I got nauseous from the dead alien again and stopped to, uh, deal with it.” He replied sheepishly. “Oh and Yurak? Heads up, there’s another Blade here. She said she intercepted the distress call and came to backup her fellow Blades.” A single curt nod was all the Blade gave him as she shifted her weight onto her right leg and crossed her arms over her chest. The stance seemed awfully familiar, strangely so to be honest. There was a chorus of confusion over the coms but Hunk didn’t really have any answers so he chose not to say anything.

A few minutes went by and small black and purple figure came peeling around the corner way too fast to be anyone other than Yurak. He came to an abrupt halt, blade drawn, and spoke something in Galran that Hunk didn’t understand. It was weird, his suit should have translated it automatically but for some reason it didn’t. He made a mental note to bring that to Pidge’s attention when they made it back to the Castle of Lions. The female Galra said something back and Yurak’s blade dropped to the ground with a loud clatter. Seconds later his mask was dematerializing, revealing his incredibly complicated expression.

The female Blade gasped; audibly this time. She moved to dematerialize her own mask and _WHAT THE QUIZNAK!_ Before him stood Yurak, and female Yurak, they were basically identical. Ok, so aside from the purple skin and more Galran features, Keith and Yurak were _actually_ identical so this was more of a blatant family resemblance but still – HOLY QUIZNAK!

“Kr-Krolia?” Yurak stuttered. He took a tentative step forward before launching himself at her, arms wrapped around her waist. She looked taken a back for a split second before burying her face in his hair and breathing deeply, instantly dropping to her knees as her arms enveloped him in a tight embrace. “I – I thought I’d never see you again! I asked Kolivan about you, but he said you were on an important mission. I – omg I’ve missed you so much.”

Was he crying? No, the twins didn’t cry. But he did sound like he was sniffling and his breath seemed to catch on his words and OMG, he IS crying!! Hunk watched the exchange, it was sweet and seemed like a reunion of sorts, but that was impossible. Yurak was from a completely different reality and there was no way this woman could have known him. He wanted to interject, to remind them that they needed to get off this station like, ASAP, but he didn’t want to ruin the moment.

“Yurak?” She spoke the name like a question and he pushed off of her, nodding as his tear filled eyes looked up to meet hers. “I – you – you look so – but how?” She seemed to only voice bits and pieces of her thoughts as they swirled behind her eyes, darting back and forth across Yurak’s purple face.

“I’m not Keith. Well, I am but it’s incredibly complicated. We can explain at the Castle of Lions. Come back with us. Please mom. Don’t leave.” _MOM????????????????_

Hunk froze. He stood there - frozen, mouth on the floor, heart no longer beating, lungs no longer breathing, brain no longer functioning. Just frozen. _Mom?_ Had he heard that right? Like, had Yurak legit just said ‘MOM’ to this Galra lady? _Holy Quiznak_! Holy frickin quiznak!!!

“I left you once, I’ll never leave you again.” She spoke softly, her words hanging heavily in the air.

“You’ve never left me. You took me with you to the stars.” He smiled warmly at her, his voice low, and his eyes soft and caring. Suddenly his face steeled into a hard line. The neutral expression of the Blades planted firmly in place as he rose to his feet, mask re-appearing at the touch of his fingers. “Come on, we need to move. Now.”

Hunk stared; he couldn’t process the speed with which the emotional charge of their interaction had changed. Without missing a beat the Galran woman, Krolia, rose to her feet and returned her mask. She turned to face him and gave a curt nod, while Yurak bent to pickup his blade.

“Paladin, stay between us. Yurak, you lead, I will follow.” Yurak gave a single nod and a quiet grunt, turning his back and tearing off down the hall. Hunk followed; there really wasn’t anything else he could do, plus the only part of him that seemed to be functioning were his legs. Certainly not his brain.

* * *

They ran to catch up with the others and Yurak paused. Yellow almost crashed right into him but Krolia grabbed his collar, yanking him back at the last moment. “Krolia, where is your pod? We can’t leave it behind.” She nodded to him.

“It is down that way -” nodding her head in the direction of the hall on the right, she continued. “- I will retrieve it and follow your ships.”

“No,” he grabbed her wrist as she turned to leave. “Get your pod and dock it in the belly of the Black lion. I’ll let its Paladin know to wait for you. He wont wait long, his mate is injured.” Yurak kept it vague, not alluding to Keith, hoping that Yellow didn’t interject. This wasn’t something he wanted to drop on his twin so suddenly, they could discuss it when the arrived. She gave him a single not and grunt and he watched his mother dart down the hall towards her docked pod.

“You uh, you not gunna tell Keith about your mom – er, Krolia, or whatever?” Yellow asked tentatively and Yurak shook his head.

“No, we can talk about it when we get back. It’s a distraction right now.” He looked the incredibly pale Paladin over before continuing again. “You don’t look so good. You ok to fly your lion?”

“Yea, yea I’ll be fine. S’not like anyone else can anyways. I just need to sit and breathe. It’s all good. I’m good!” He gave a thumbs up and took a few deep breaths before standing straight again. The colour was slowly starting to return to his face so Yurak let it go.

Continuing on their way he messaged Keith to be ready and received a snippy reply. Yea, his twin was _not_ going to be thrilled with the added delay. Hopefully it would be worth it.

* * *

The Blade docked their pod in his lion and the moment the cargo bay doors closed, Black was rocketing across space. “Coran, wormhole!” he demanded and their exit appeared before them shortly there after.

The castle came into view once they made it to the other side and he pushed Black even harder. Lance didn’t have the connection with Red that he had meaning she wasn’t able to fly herself behind them so Hunk had scooped her up with Yellow. He checked his screens and all 5 lions had made it through the wormhole with no issue and no followers. It was a massive relief, Lance was still out cold and he wouldn’t tolerate any more delays. Who ever this Blade was, they had better damn well hope they were important enough to warrant waiting for, or Keith was going to lose his shit on them.

Lance stirred slightly in Sven’s arms and Keith felt his blood pressure rise. A calming voice brushed against his mind whispering ‘patience’ and his subconscious automatically finished with ‘yields focus’. Keith took a deep breath in (1..2..3..4), held it (1..2..3..4..5..6..7), and let it out slowly (1..2..3..4..5..6..7..8). He repeated this sequence several times before he felt himself relax. Lance would be fine, he would. And Yurak wouldn’t have made him wait for this Blade if there wasn’t a good reason. (1..2..3..4..5..6..7) and out (1..2..3..4..5..6..7..8).

He couldn’t wait. Black opened her mouth and Keith was already halfway down the ramp by time he heard the cargo door open. He held Lance in a fireman’s carry, the same way Allura had, and rushed to the medbay as fast as his legs could carry him. The Princess would have been faster, but then he’d have had to wait for her to get from Blue’s hangar to Black’s and that wasn’t an option. Keith nearly steam rolled Pidge as he barrelled down the hall, they had only _just_ managed to jump out of his way in the nick of time.

Yurak sprinted past, not weighed down by an unconscious body, and opened the medbay door for him. A small grunt of appreciation was all he could spare as he darted into the room and gently laid his boyfriend on the table. He quickly began removing the Paladin armour, leaving only the flight suit underneath. Coran immediately came over to them, pulling out a strange device that made an even stranger clicking sound as it scanned over the Red Paladin’s body.

“Ahh, as I suspected. It is merely a sedative, he will be just fine. I suggest placing him on one of the cots so that he is more confortable and I can still monitor his vitals.” Keith nodded and followed Coran’s instruction, placing Lance gingerly on one of the medbay cots and pulling a blanket over his body, being sure to tuck in the sides.

Not really knowing what else to do, he sat on the edge of the cot and stroked at Lance’s soft brown hair, moving it off his face and out of his eyes. Keith let his nails lightly drag across the tanned forehead and down the side of his strong jaw line. Lance didn’t react to the touch, but Keith didn’t stop, he caressed the back of his hand up Lance’s cheek again, towards his temple this time and laced his fingers in the head brown hair. A soft scent of coconut wafted off him as his hair was rustled and it made Keith’s heart flutter. He really loved this beautiful boy with his soft skin, smooth hair, stunning eyes, and amazing heart. God Keith loved him.

Suddenly he was incredibly grateful that only Yurak had followed them to the medbay. He would understand, he had a mate, he knew exactly how Keith felt and wouldn’t judge him for it. The minutes passed by and Lance started to stir more and more as the sedative slow wore off. Yurak had moved to help Coran, taking the unconscious Paladin’s vitals every so often and making sure that there were no nasty side effects. So far so good. The others showed up but Yurak shooed them away, Keith gave him a thankful look.

Another 30 minutes went by and Lance finally opened his eyes. “Keith?” His genuine smile pulled up at the edge of his lips. “I must be dead if I’m waking up in the arms of an angel.” He smirked and Keith burst out laughing.

“Oh dear lord.” Yurak muttered off in the distance. “At least we know you’re fine.” But Keith just kept on smiling. He couldn’t help it. Lance was ok, and that was all that mattered.

* * *

Krolia had always made him incredibly nervous. He loved his Half-Galra boyfriend with all his heart, but Yurak’s Pure-Galra mom was another story. She was the most terrifying being in _any_ universe and she was fiercely protective of her son. He remembered the first time they met; she eyed him up and declared he ‘had much to prove’ while scowling at him. Sven had been trying to gain her approval ever since.

This Krolia seemed different though, she was the same hard and tough woman he knew but with a very different energy. It took a minute or two but eventually Sven figured it out; the difference was that she was incredibly nervous. Unlike in their reality, she hadn’t taken her son with her. Keith had looked passably Human so she had made the decision to leave him on Earth to live a peaceful life. Sacrificing her own happiness for his safety. This Krolia never new her son, she had to leave him behind when he was only 2 years old and it showed. She was shuffling on her feet, the movement subtle enough that none of the Humans noticed, and he wondered if the Altean’s did. Sven noticed, he noticed because he had lived amongst the Galra for years now. He knew their quirks and mannerisms, and he knew Krolia really well – his reality’s version of Krolia. But if Keith and Yurak were anything to go by, it meant that they would be similar at least.

Allura and the other Paladins had come to Black’s hangar after Yurak kicked them out of the medbay. The Princess directed them to the lounge and Sven noticed that Krolia did not deactivate her mask, instead choosing to stand against the wall in her full Marmora suit. That was pretty typical of her though so he had expected it, yet it clearly made the others nervous.

It took almost half an hour before Yurak came into the lounge. Allura rose to greet him and Krolia kicked off the wall. Yurak’s mask and hood were already down and he made a beeline for his mother stopping directly in front of her. Sven sat on the couch with the Paladins, all eyes on the two Blades as they waited for an introduction. He hadn’t done one, she wasn’t his mother and he didn’t feel it was his place, plus Krolia hadn’t bothered introducing herself either.

“His mate woke up. He’s fine, no lasting damage unless you count the fact that he was already retarded.” Pidge snickered, Hunk gasped, Allura blushed, and Coran nodded slightly. But Krolia didn’t react, at least not that he could see with her mask still firmly in place. “I think maybe it would be best if we do this privately, you know, less eyes.” He nodded his head in the direction of the couch and Krolia gave a huff.

“Do what? What’s going on? Who is this? And why are you being all cagey?” Pidge questioned. They had gotten up and were now leaning against the back of the couch with their knees on the seat, arms folded in front of them facing the two Blades.

Yurak rolled his eyes but exchanged a long silence with Krolia before turning back to the group. Her mask dematerialized and there was a loud gasp from everyone present, except himself and Hunk.

“This is Krolia, she’s a highly ranking member of the Blade of Marmora and, also … she’s my mother. Well, actually she’s Keith’s mother. My mother is back in my own reality thinking I’m dead.” He crossed his arms over his chest and Sven could see the pain behind his eyes. He moved to comfort his partner but Krolia beat him to it. Her arms wrapping around him and pulling the younger into a tight embrace as she carded her claws through his hair. Instantly Yurak relaxed, comforted by the familiar scent of his mother. She purred slightly and he closed his eyes, wrapping his arms loosely around her waist, and turning his head to bury his nose in the nape of her neck.

The room fell into complete silence, save for the rhythmic purring of the two Galra. They stayed like that for a minute or two, just familiarizing themselves with each other’s scent and touch, before Yurak broke away. He turned to Sven and smiled, pure adoration in his gaze.

“Mo – Krolia, this is Sven. He’s my mate and he comes from my reality.” That was his cue; rising to his feet Sven crossed the gap and clasped forearms with Krolia. She tightened her grip and narrowed her eyes as she judged him.

Seemingly having made up her mind about him, she released his arm and gave a curt nod. “Pleased to meet you Sven. You remind me a great deal of my own mate.” And for the first time in his entire life, Sven received a warm smile from his Galra mother-in-law. “Yurak explained the your situation to me inside the cargo hold of the black lion. It seems to me that you are lucky to have found one another. Destiny is a funny thing isn’t it?”

“Oh Rak, I like this Krolia way better than your Krolia!” He joked resulting in Yurak growling and throwing a data pad at him. Krolia chuckled and he smiled at her before moving to stand with his partner. Yurak laced their fingers together and leaned his head on Sven’s shoulder as they waited for Keith and Lance to arrive. It was either about to be a warm family reunion or incredibly awkward.

* * *

They waited what felt like vargas before the doors finally opened. In walked a tan skinned Human followed closely by another with pale skin and a mop of dark black hair. _Keith._

He looked so much like his father, maybe it was just his pale skin and dark hair with more Human features, but he was beautiful. Yurak had made her heart stop, it was like looking into a younger, more male mirror and the closer she looked the more she saw of her mate. But Keith – Keith looked like him with sprinkles of her mixed in. Though they were purple like hers, he had his father’s eyes and while his jaw line was more similar to her own, his overall skin tone and hair colour came directly from his father. As did his ears, teeth, lack of claws, and his voice. She had heard it through Yurak’s lips and recognized it right away. Keith would have the same voice; she knew that, Yurak had already explained the entire situation to her. She felt her heart melt at the sight of him; this was her son! This was the tiny little baby she had to leave behind, the best surprise that had ever happened to her, the reason she kept fighting this war, and the most beautiful sight she had ever seen.

There was something slightly off about Yurak’s scent. He smelled like family but it was a fraction of a tic off, barely noticeable. He was beautiful too; his skin was a perfect shade of violet and his eyes shone with life. Even if he wasn’t _hers_ per say, he was now. She would love him as if he and Keith were twins. He was her son, they both were, and her heart was about to burst.

Yester-quintant she was alone, returning to the main base on Kolivan’s orders most likely to be sent out on another long-term mission. She didn’t have her mate anymore so it made sense to send her on these missions, besides she was good at them. Now that her brother had passed, she had been utterly alone. But that was yester-quintant, this quintant she suddenly had two sons! Her long lost baby boy and his counterpart had found their way into her life. She wouldn’t trade it for the world. And now that she had them, both of them, she wasn’t letting them go.

“Who’s the hot Galra lady?” Keith’s mate spoke. Sven choked slightly and Yurak burst out into laughter, her laugh she noted. He shared her laugh and that thought made her smile.

“Classic, Lance. Oh man, you are going to kick yourself.” He doubled over and Keith shot him a light growl, nothing threatening, just a simple warning.

“Rak, calm down. What’s going on?” Keith looked at her in that moment and she watched his eyes blow wide. Krolia offered him a warm smile before making a move to speak.

“Greetings son. Krolia. Mother to you and Yurak.” She spoke in Galran, hoping beyond hope that he understood their language. The Human, Lance, dropped his jaw to the floor and blushed significantly. She knew the ship had translators, she knew the Paladins would understand her, but she still wanted to speak to her son in her own language.

“ _What_?? You’re my – my mother?” He looked as if he were in shock, turning to his twin for confirmation and Yurak nodded slightly. She smiled at him; he handled his brother well.

Krolia didn’t move, she got the sense that their different lives had moulded them into very different people emotionally and she did not want to over step or make him uncomfortable. While Yurak came off as being much more in-touch with his emotions, she was getting the sense that Keith was substantially more closed off. He needed a moment to process things, having all the Paladins present would be over whelming to him so it didn’t surprise her in the least when he turned on his heel and darted from the room.

“Keith? _KEITH!!_ Come back man.” Yurak called after him. “I’m sorry mo-Krolia. I’ll talk to him.”

“You may call me ‘mom’. I know you want to. I haven’t had that title in 17 years and I’ve wished for it everyday.” He smiled at her before turning back to chase after his brother.

Krolia suddenly felt incredibly awkward. She was standing in the lounge with the Alteans, Human Paladins, and Sven staring at her. Keith’s mate, Lance, tentatively stepped closer.

“Uh, sorry about that. I – uh, I mean, I didn’t mean – to say – um, _that_. I just...” He slapped his hands over his face to cover the blush that had started again. She gave him a moment to recoup; it’s not like she knew what to say anyways. “I’m sorry, I was trying to lighten the mood but uh, guess I made it weird.”

She stared at him not really knowing how to respond. She could acknowledge his blunder and scold him for his immaturity, or she could ignore it and choose to move on – but that wouldn’t solve anything. He needed to know that amongst the Galra, his ‘joke’ was not appreciated. If only to prevent him from further blunders in the future. She could tell he and Keith had become mates, even if they didn’t realize it yet themselves. This meant that Lance would be dealing very closely with the Blades, interacting with Galra in a social environment, not just on the battlefield. He would need to learn Galran etiquette, lest it reflect poorly on her son. And she would not stand for that.

“You did. I urge you to take the time to sit with Yurak and learn the basics of Galran etiquette. I will not allow you to make a fool of my son.” _Very_ w _ell done_. She thought to herself. She’d handled that perfectly and he could use her encouragement to learn from this. She’d have to pat herself on the back for her excellent mothering skills.

Brightly bouncing to her feet the Altean Princess spoke. “Perhaps a tour of the castle is in order? Krolia, if you will, please follow me.” She was soft, trying to spare the young Human from his own embarrassment. Because this was their first meeting she would let his slight slide, allow the Human a chance to collect himself and try again.

“Yes, a tour would be good. Lance, you may re-attempt your greeting when I return. Do not disappoint me.” She gave him a quick nod to signal her approval and swiftly made to follow the Princess.

* * *

“Wha–what just happened? I think I blacked out.” Lance stuttered. That was the most terrifying thing he had ever been through – and he’s been fighting in a space war for over a year now!

“Welcome to my world, Lance. The first thing she said to me when Yurak introduced us back on the Guns base was ‘you have much to prove’. So you got off easy.” Sven chuckled and elbowed him in the side. Which kinda hurt to be honest.

“So, uh, are you like, you know, gunna try again or what ever?” Hunk asked sheepishly and Lance didn’t actually know how to respond to that. He already _did_ apologize, plus it wasn’t really his fault – no one told _him_ she was his boyfriend’s mom. _Oh god._ Had he really just called his boyfriend’s mom hot?

Lance felt another blush creep across his face, this was not good, this was sooooo not good. It took ages to win over Keith; it would probably take him lifetimes to win over Krolia. He groaned and slumped down on the couch. Maybe he should have just stayed unconscious.

* * *

Keith ran to the first place he could think of: Red’s hangar. Why he ran to Red he didn’t know. Black was his lion now, but for some reason he just always felt more comfortable with Red. So here he sat, curled up on Red’s giant paw, fully aware that Yurak was following him.

“Dude! What the fuck man?”

“Rak I just – I need a minute.”

“Why? When we first met, you asked me question after question about Krolia. You were desperate to know as much about her as possible. Well here she is! So why the hell are you running away? I don’t get it.” He threw his arms in the air and moved closer, pulling himself up onto Red’s paw to sit beside Keith.

“I just - I don’t know.” He shook his head, trying to pull his thoughts into something coherent. “It was different when she was this abstract concept. This ‘Galra mom’ I didn’t know out there somewhere. But now, with her here … all I can think about is how she left. Left me behind with my dad, only for me to end up completely alone when he died. I needed her, and she was just gone.” He hung his head between his knees, trying to fight back the tears that were desperately fighting to escape. Yurak inched closer, his hand resting across Keith’s shoulders and a low purr starting in his chest. It was soothing.

Keith leaned into it, he tipped himself to the side and leaned against his brother resting his head on the other’s shoulder. The soft purring echoed in his chest and helped to even out his breathing. After a minute he found his voice and continued.

“The worst part – what hurts the most? Is that she took you with her, but – but left me behind.” That was it. That was what had bothered him this whole time. Ever since meeting Yurak, realizing that their mother had chosen to take him with her but hadn’t made the same choice for Keith. It had eaten away at him. He wasn’t good enough; he hadn’t been good enough for the foster homes, and he hadn’t been good enough for his own mother to keep him. The foster homes hated him because he wasn’t Human enough, and his mother didn’t want him because he wasn’t Galra enough.

He couldn’t help it; at that realization he simply dissolved. The tears flowed freely as he had no way to stop them any more. Yurak started to rub his shoulder, the purring continued, and he lowered his head to rest against Keith’s. 

“You’re misunderstanding. She gave you the opportunity to live a peaceful life because you could pass for Human. I couldn’t, so she had no choice but to bring me to be raised in war.” Keith looked up at his brother for a moment. He hadn’t thought of it that way. “See? If you look for the negative you can find it - no matter which side your looking from.”

Keith nodded. “I felt abandoned, and you felt robbed of freedom and choice. We both wanted what the other had.” 

“Yea, I think it took us meeting each other to see the benefits of the hand we were each dealt. I loved the Guns, still do, and I loved growing up learning how to fly ships and traveling through space with my mom. But I’ve never lived on a Planet before. The longest I’ve ever been on one was 3 movements because our team was stranded. We left Earth when I was 2 and I don’t even remember my dad at all.” It was Yurak’s turn to be sad. He hung his head for a moment before steeling himself and looking back to Keith. “I traded a chance at a ‘normal life’ for spaceships and alien tech and war. You traded your mom for your dad. No one said it would be fair - but hey, that’s just the way it is.”

“It is what it is.” Keith said off handedly before meeting his brother’s eyes. “That’s something dad used to say all the time. Whenever something was out of his control he would just shrug and say ‘it is what it is’ then move on like it wasn’t worth the effort. He was probably right. I feel pathetic for having been so upset about this when you didn’t have it any easier.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. I may have been raised in war, bred to be a soldier, but I was surrounded by people who loved me. Keith, you didn’t deserve to be treated the way you were. Those Humans were awful to you and if mom knew that would happen she _never_ would have left you on Earth. Trust me, I know her!” He sounded so resolute. Keith believed him, he believed his brother when he promised that his mother had only meant the best for him, that she had only been trying to give him a chance to live a safe and long life. 

He smiled at Yurak. “Now it’s my turn to know her.”


End file.
